they're um... I can't think of the word. Suffixes I suppose. San is about the sam as Mr or Mrs i believe. Chan is usally used for children. Kun, is used for boys and in the place of San i think. I'm at school if i can get on after i'll write a better explanation

-Chan: Usually used when reffering to girls, but it can also be applied to boys. I have heard it used among adults and young children. ^^;; Also, usually it is only the first one or two sylables of the persons first name. Like my name, Kristina, would probably be Krissy-Chan.

-Kun: Just like Chan, only used for boys. I haven't heard this term applied to girls.

-Sempai: Not exactly like a teacher, but a mentor. Usually they are older friends.

-Sensei: Teacher.

-Sama: A highly respected person.

-San: Litterly Mr/Mrs./Miss/Ms. You never use this when reffering to yourself.

Those are the only ones I can think of right now...xD;

Last edited by Wolfie on Mon 06.06.2005 9:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

It can be tacked onto either first or last names. For the most part, one only referrs to someone else by their last name out of respect, unless they are friends and/or family. So most often you will see -san and -kun attached to a last name, and -chan attached to a first name, but that's not a concrete rule.

It sounds to me like you've heard a younger sibling talking to an elder sibling. Like a little sister will call her brother "onii-chan".

And, just like in english, a child may become attached to a non-family member and refer to him/her as part of their family out of affection, and call this person 'big brother' or 'big sister' in that context.

I have a little anecdote concerning this thread. Originally I was born in London where I lived for ten years in a very poor community. In school we used Miss or Mr to address teachers. At ten I was sent away to live with my grandparents so that I could go to a decent upper class school. Ofcourse, I was reprimanded by the first teacher I encountered for calling her miss. After a while I became very accustomed to addressing them Sir and Maam/Madam. In this school behavior was much better. There were no stabbings, children got good decent results all of the teachers and most of the pupils were white. Three years of that my bad behavior was to much for my grandparents and they sent me back to London to go to a boys' school. I was laughed at by all the students in the class for calling the teacher Maam. Those lucky Japansies only have to deal with sensei.

As far as I've observed, the term for chan, san, kun, etc, at least in english, is "honorifics". I don't know if that's the right word, but I read it in the back of EQ, so it must be right! Lol, kidding. Anyway, as far as I've picked up from manga:

Chan: Used with people your own age/close to you/friends. Mainly with girls, but it can be used with boys too!
Kun: Used with people younger than yourself, eg. children, or friends.
San: The Nihongo equivalent of Mr. Miss. Mrs. Ms. , etc. Used as a sign of respect.
Sama: Used with someone you have a lot of respect for, such as the mayor of your area or somebody like that.

Personally, I use all of them depending on the mood I am in with my friends, like if they're really annoying me I'll call them "kun", my own way of implying they're being childish, etc. Not exactly the proper use, but I little more fun!